An Iraqi librarian sorts books on the shelves of the central library in Basra, about 420 km (261 miles) southeast of Baghdad, March 18, 2013. Ten years ago this week, British forces entered Iraq's second city, Basra, as part of the U.S.-led invasion of the country. Known locally as a cultural hero, librarian Alia Baqer moved to rescue the contents of Basra's central library before everything was lost. "At the beginning of the war on Iraq, the governor (of Basra) took the library over as a headquarters for himself and his guards, mounting machine guns on top of the building. So, we asked the governor if we could take the important books to our homes, but he rejected the idea. Eventually we took the responsibility ourselves to transfer the books, without the governor's approval," Baqer said. Baqer moved about 30,000 books out of the city's central library to a neighbouring restaurant and later to her home, before the looting and burning of the library during the first days of the U.S.-invasion of Iraq began. REUTERS/Atef Hassan

Librarian: Hug A Minority To Fix Problem Of Microaggressions

A University of Massachusetts-Amherst librarian urged her colleagues to give hugs to students, especially those of color, in order to help fight microaggressions during an October conference.

Academic librarian Isabel Espinal gave a presentation along with two fellow academic librarians at a conference at Dartmouth College, Campus Reform first reported Wednesday. The Dartmouth Library Conference gathered academic librarians across the country to share how they “have achieved success through assessing and addressing user needs.”

Espinal’s presentation, created with UMass-Amherst librarians Tom Paige and David Mac Court, focused on improving students’ experiences while at the library by eliminating micro-aggressions and focusing on “micro-affections,” or words and phrases that uplift students.

The micro-affections chart, created by Espinal, calls on librarians to “note someone’s unique fashion sense or new haircut,” “smile at coworkers,”and “hug someone.” The chart also suggests telling students or colleagues “I love your idea,” “I appreciate that you…” or “Thanks for mentioning that perspective.”

It is strongly suggested that these actions or remarks are targeted to minority students, the chart adds. Espinal authored the presentation section on “micro-affections,” Mac Court told Campus Reform.

Espinal did not return The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment in time for publication.

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